Amazon has launched a new book publishing initiative called Kindle Scout, which lets you the reader vote on the books that should be published.

Sign up for Kindle Scout and you’ll be given the opportunity to read and review unpublished books that have been submitted to Amazon.

Each user can nominate three books at a time that they think should be published through the Kindle store. Books that receive sufficient nominations after a set 30 day period will be reviewed by the Kindle Scout team, who will then select which will be published under the Kindle Press banner.

Readers who have nominated books that go on to be published will receive a free full-length Kindle edition of a book a week before it’s published.

For unpublished writers, it’s a potential leg-up into the world of paid writing. Each successfully published book under the Kindle Press scheme with see the author given a $1,500 advance, a 50 percent ebook royalty rate, five-year renewable terms, and free marketing on the Amazon website and Kindle store.

Given the rocky time with traditional publishers Amazon has had of late, this could be just the sort of initiative that helps secure Amazon’s publishing future.

Naturally, the success or failure of Kindle Scout will revolve around the writing talent it manages to attract. Will bright up and coming writers trust Amazon to market their early efforts sufficiently, or will they continue to go down traditional publishing routes?